Expecting the Unexpected
by T'Reilani
Summary: Riella has survived this before, but will the rest of NEST? Technorganic-verse alternate future.
1. Chapter 1: Virus?

**Well, people, here it is! Riella and Prowl's family is growing! **

**I only own Riella…and the little one!**

**Note 7/14/14: This story has been pretty heavily edited (because I was a beginning writer at the time, it really needed it). **

_**Expecting the Unexpected**_

**Chapter 1: Virus?**

Riella groaned as her internal alarm went off. "Unh...I don't want to get up..." She rolled over, bumping against Prowl, who was already sitting up.

"Something wrong, sweetspark?" he asked, gently brushing a hand over her hair. She'd chosen to recharge in organic mode, hoping it would eliminate the problems she'd been having in robot mode.

"Oh...I don't know." She forced herself to sit up. "I just don't feel so good."

"Are you sick?" Prowl lifted her onto his lap and cradled her against him.

"Maybe...it could be a virus." She rested her head against his chest, feeling his spark pulse in time with hers. "I'm tired, and my spark chamber doesn't feel quite right. It...aches a bit. Could also be bruising from a battle, I suppose."

"I'm sorry." Prowl rubbed her back. "Do you want me to call Ratchet and have him take a look at you?"

"Not necessary, but thank you. I made an appointment with him for later today. It's not too bad now." She straightened up and climbed off the berth, reaching for her clothes. "All I have this morning is monitor duty and a meeting with General Morshower. It won't hurt me to do that. Besides, I might lose my processor just sitting around."

"You probably would, at that." Prowl got up and waited for her to finish dressing before opening the door. He knelt to give her a kiss. "You'll call me if you need anything?"

"I will." Riella followed him out the door into the giant Autobot-sized hallway. Prowl turned toward the mess hall, then paused. "You want anything to eat?"

"Um...actually, yes. Maybe I should come get some energon." Riella was surprised; she wasn't usually hungry until she'd done her morning workout.

"Don't bother," Prowl told her. "You head down to the training room and get started, I'll meet you there and bring something for both of us."

"Okay, thanks."

The training room, as usual, was quiet; most Autobots didn't start practicing combat until later in the day. On Cybertron, as a Cyber-Ninja teacher, Riella had learned to get up early and get her personal workout done before any of their students arrived. She started with a few quick stretches, before moving into her Form 1 exercises. She only made it about halfway through before Prowl arrived, with two cubes of regular-grade energon. She took one and gratefully took a few sips.

"Thanks. I needed this."

"No problem." Prowl took a drink from his cube. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, mostly. Still tired, but the aching is just about gone. I think it was probably a bruise."

"That's good to hear." Prowl set his energon cube down and started his stretches. Riella joined him, starting her Form 1 exercises over again. The aching returned about ten minutes later, but she didn't complain, not wanting Prowl to worry about her.

After a half hour of exercising, the two separated, Riella going to the monitor room and Prowl to a meeting with Optimus Prime and Jazz. Once in the monitor room, the technorganic climbed into the chair and relaxed with a sigh. "Ooh. I hope Ratchet can fix whatever's wrong."

Monitor duty seemed to last forever that morning, and the meeting afterward seemed to take even longer. General Morshower wasn't nearly as bad as Simmons, but Riella didn't particularly enjoy talking to human government agents, even the ones who weren't stuck-up glitches. Also, the subject matter - how they should deal with the government's concerns about NEST's budget - was _incredibly_ boring under the best of circumstances, which these weren't.

Finally, she was able to go down to the medbay and report to Ratchet, explaining the problem.

"Well, now." Ratchet picked her up and set her on the examining table. "Can you transform to robot mode? It'll be easier to check your spark chamber that way."

"Yes, I think so, but it's a bit uncomfortable." She obediently transformed and lay back on the table.

"Hmm." Ratchet fastened a wire into the data port on her arm, projecting her self-repair systems log onto the monitor. "I'm not picking up any record of a virus. You say it seems to be focused in your spark chamber?"

"That's what I think. Of course, I don't know for sure. I'm only guessing from the symptoms."

"Well, then..." Ratchet started hooking a few wires into her spark monitor. "Let's run a spark scan, see if there's anything wrong in there that your self-repairs didn't pick up." The scanner beeped as he switched it on. Ratchet looked at the readings on his monitor, then his optics widened.

"Ratchet? What's wrong?" Riella would have sat up, if she hadn't had the wires attached.

"Riella..." Ratchet turned to look at her. "You don't mind if I ask a few personal questions, do you?"

"Not at all. You know that."

"First, have you noticed you're unusually hungry lately?" Ratchet sat down and studied her clinically.

"Not that I..." Riella was about to say no, but then she remembered that morning. "Yes, actually. This morning."

"No other times?" the medic checked. When she shook her head, he continued. "And you've been unusually tired. Have you been sleeping at night?"

"Yes. I haven't had any problems at all."

"Okay." Ratchet paused. "This is the really personal question. When was the last time you and Prowl...sparked? Not just interfaced; sparked."

Riella arched an optic ridge. "That's _extremely_ personal, but...it was about ten standard days ago. A decacycle."

"That's what I thought." Ratchet nodded.

"Ratchet, what's wrong with me?" She sat up this time, ignoring the wires that popped free from her chest plates.

"Nothing's wrong, Riella." Ratchet turned to her, a smile on his faceplates. "Congratulations." He held out the small monitor.

Riella stared at the image on the monitor; it was the last thing she'd expected to see.

A double spark signature.

"I'm...carrying? But I can't…"

"Yes, you're carrying." Ratchet gave her a genuine smile. "I know you and Prowl were hoping for this. I'm very happy for both of you."

Riella's optics snapped wide in shock. "But…but you said…I thought…I couldn't carry again. How…"

Ratchet chuckled and shook his head. "I only said that I doubted you would. It's not physically impossible for you. Obviously, I suppose."

"Oh, Ratchet!" Riella suddenly threw her arms around the medic's neck, startling him. "This is...this is the best news I've had since we heard that Bluestreak was coming to Earth!" She let go, hopped off the exam table, and shook her head in laughing disbelief. "Primus…Prowl's going to glitch. I just know it."

"Don't get too excited yet," Ratchet warned. "I want to run a few more tests. I think everything is alright, but I need to confirm."


	2. Chapter 2: Nightmare from the Pit

**Chapter 2! Thanks for the reviews, everybody! **

**I own Riella and the sparkling! Tai belongs to Tatyana Witwicky; thanks for the loan!**

**Chapter 2: Nightmare from the Pit**

Riella shyly made her way into the hangar, with Ratchet right behind her, to where most of the Autobots, including Prowl, were talking to Lennox, Epps, Tai, and a few other humans.

"Ah...Prowl?" she asked quietly. "Could...I talk to you for a moment?" She was so excited about telling him, but she wasn't so sure how the rest of the Autobots - let alone the humans - were going to take it.

"Of course." Prowl moved away from the others. "Are you alright? What did Ratchet say?"

She felt coolant tears start to well in her optics, and she brushed at them impatiently. "Sorry. I didn't want this to happen. Guess it was inevitable."

Prowl pulled her into his arms, a worried expression on his faceplate. "What's wrong, sweetspark?"

She hugged him back, smiling through the tears. "I'm okay, Prowl, nothing's wrong...it's just...I'm carrying. I know we thought I couldn't, but Ratchet ran a scan, and…" She trailed off, looking up at him expectantly.

Prowl stared at her blankly for a second, optics wide. She reached up to touch his face. "Hey. Prowl. Don't glitch out now, okay?"

He blinked, then shook his head slightly, stammering. "You're - we're - we - you – I thought…_carrying_?" The shock wore off a moment later, and he grabbed her in a hard hug, a huge grin spreading across his faceplate. "Riella, that's amazing!"

"What's 'carrying'?" Both Autobots turned to see that Lennox was looking at them. In fact, everyone in the hangar was staring at them, the Autobots with surprised smiles, the humans with confused expressions. Prowl's voice had been a bit louder than he realized.

Bluestreak, unsurprisingly, was the first one to speak. "Riella? You're carrying? Like, a sparkling?"

"Well, yes, that's generally what carrying refers to," Sideswipe mocked, before doing a double take. "Wait - RIELLA? CARRYING?! But I thought the technorganic thing…"

"Didn't prevent it from happening, apparently," Riella confirmed with a smile. "Ratchet says I'll need to be careful, but so far we're both fine."

"Wow..." Bumblebee cautiously moved toward them. "How long - I mean - "

"How far is it along?" Prowl shrugged and looked at his sparkmate.

"About a decacycle," Riella responded with a shrug. "We just ran the scan about half an hour ago."

"Congratulations to both of you," Optimus said, reaching out to rest a hand on Prowl's shoulder. "I know the two of you wanted this."

"Wanted _what?_" Epps looked thoroughly confused, as did every other human in the room - except Tai, who had a knowing smirk on her face.

"A sparkling," Sunstreaker announced, with a grin. "Hopefully just one this time, but you never know."

There was silence from every human in the room for a full minute.

"You're - _pregnant?_" Lennox practically squeaked.

"Well, the Autobot term is 'carrying', and it's not exactly the same, but yes, essentially." Prowl tightened his hold on Riella with a smile, causing her to wince a bit. "Ow...watch the spark chamber."

"Sorry, sorry!" Prowl loosened his grip quickly.

"It's fine. Just remember that it's expanding at the moment. That doesn't take pressure very well."

"Congrats, you two," Tai said, grinning. "Welcome to the club, Riella, I can't wait for this!"

"So..." Epps stared at Riella as though expecting her to have changed visually in some way. "What...exactly...I mean...are you gonna...um...how do robots...gain weight...or um..." He stopped as Lennox punched his shoulder, hard. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Trust me, pregnant women don't want to be asked about..." Lennox looked at Riella and lowered his voice. "Gaining weight."

"Oh! Um...oops..." Epps looked around awkwardly. "Uh, sorry?"

"It's fine." Riella knelt so that he didn't have to tilt his head back to look at her. "And actually, I won't gain weight. I'm only carrying the spark."

"The what?"

"The 'spark'," Ratchet answered for the femme. "The spark is what keeps a 'bot online. It also determines whether or not they are mech or femme, what their abilities will be, what their personality is..."

"Essentially, it's their soul," Riella said. "Soul combined with heart. Sparklings are conceived when a mech and femme -"

"NO!" Epps and Lennox both yelled simultaneously. "I don't want to know...I really don't want to know..." Epps groaned.

The Autobots cracked up laughing. "That's not what she meant!" Sideswipe yelled. Everyone winced at the volume. "She means sparkbonding, not interfacing!" Sunstreaker followed up.

"_Sparkbonding_," Perceptor began, in his 'lecture voice', "is the procedure by which a mech and a femme combine their sparks to form a single spark. This process involves the exchange of parts of their sparks, so that they are permanently bonded, with a mental connection. A sparkling is conceived when a portion of the combined spark separates and enters the femme's reproduction chamber, housed within her spark chamber. The new spark will gestate and grow within the femme for a period of roughly eight decacycles, receiving nutrition from her spark, until it is fully produced. At that time, it works it way out of the reproduction chamber. A medic assists with that process, and when the spark is completely free of the femme, it is merged with a _protoform_, which is essentially a miniature unprogrammed robot. The result is a very small, partially unformed sparkling very similar to a human infant."

"And the point of that extremely long explanation," Riella said, "was to tell you that essentially, I'll have a miniature spark inside my spark chamber for about eighty days."

"Oookaaaay," Lennox dragged the word out. "So...you won't gain weight."

"Lucky!" Tai poked the other technorganic in the knee. "Will you get to skip the other pregnancy things, too?"

"Such as?" Riella arched a brow ridge.

Lennox winced. "Um...well, you know...like, mood swings?"

"Oh, no," Prowl said, with a nervous glance at his sparkmate. "Those'll kick in soon. Probably by the end of the week, if not sooner."

Ratchet laughed. "Trust me, Major Lennox, in the next few weeks we will be dealing with a very different Riella. Humans call it mood swings; having witnessed her behavior while carrying in the past, Prowl and I call it a nightmare from the Pit."

"I am _not_ that bad!" Riella stood up and glared at Ratchet.

"Um...actually, you are," Prowl said, ducking playfully when his sparkmate turned her glare on him. "Trust me, I was there for the last sparklings. Ask Bumblebee!"

Riella turned to her oldest sparkling. "Bee?"

"I'll stay out of this, thanks," Bumblebee said with a grin. "You got yourself into that one, Prowl."

Riella turned her glare back on her sparkmate, who looked rather nervous, even though he was laughing. "Really now, Prowl?"

"Um." Prowl appeared to be looking for an escape route. "Why don't we blame it on the stress of carrying those two –" he pointed to Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, both snickering. "- and leave it at that?"


	3. Chapter 3: Hot and Cold

**Pregnant femmes are scary. XD **

**Riella's all I own!**

**Chapter 3: Hot and Cold**

Sure enough, Riella wasn't quite her usual self in the following weeks. While normally she was one of the few who could actually sit through a staff meeting without fidgeting, now she was the first one to start shifting in her seat, and sometimes actually got up and paced the room. The discomfort from her spark chamber had faded after the first few days, but she could still feel the new spark, and it took some getting used to.

Also, Ratchet had been right about the mood swings; one moment Riella would be laughing about something - and she found things funny now that she wouldn't have before - and then she would be crying her spark out for no real reason. She was _very_ easily irritated...as Sam and the Twins found out the hard way.

"Come _on_, Bee! It'll be fun!' Sideswipe used his best 'puppy dog face', which didn't really work on his older brother.

"No. I'm not stupid. You actually _want_ to get your head ripped off? Be my guest." Bumblebee walked off.

"Awww..." Sunstreaker sighed. "This would be so much more fun if we could have an audience."

"Audience for what?" They looked down to see Sam staring up at them curiously.

"We're going to annoy Riella. This should probably go on YouTube, too, but someone will take it down too fast…" Sideswipe unsubspaced a radio and a CD.

"Um..." Sam stared at the CD, suddenly understanding why Bumblebee had walked away. "Katy Perry?"

"Oh yeah," Sunstreaker grinned. "The song describes her _exactly_!"

"Yeah, but are you sure it's a good idea? She might get upset." Sam looked worriedly around, as though expecting her to show up.

"Aw, come on, this is _Riella_," Sideswipe said. "She'll laugh."

"Okay, if you say so..." Sam looked around nervously again before following them toward Riella's office.

Ten minutes and one-half rendition of "Hot and Cold" later, and Sam, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker were running as fast as they could out of the Autobots' hangar, trying not to laugh.

They ran headlong into a very startled Ratchet and First Aid. "What's wrong, are you all right?" Ratchet picked up Sam, who grabbed onto his wrist for dear life.

"SHE'S GONNA KILL US!" The twins yelled simultaneously.

"Why, what did you do?" First Aid looked at him oddly.

"What, they didn't tell you?" Riella stormed out of the hangar, her glare hot enough to melt steel. The twins immediately hid behind the medics.

"Let me put it this way," she said, very, very quietly. "Don't. _Ever. _Do that again, or you will seriously regret it. Do I make myself clear?"

Sideswipe managed half a grin. "Um, yes. But – "

"No. Buts," Riella said icily. "That is _not _funny." She spun on her heel and stalked back toward her office, yelling back over one shoulder, "And don't even think about trying to blame it on Skids and Mudflap next time! I am _not _a moron!"

"Wow..." First Aid said quietly once she was out of range. "Wasn't that a bit of an…overreaction?"

"That, my apprentice, was relatively calm for Riella at this point. She's technorganic and carrying, remember. And that isn't actually the worst of it." Ratchet shook his head, still staring at the hangar door. "Just wait till she gets...oh, about three decacycles into the carrying period. You won't want to go anywhere near her."

"This gets worse?" The twins exchanged horrified looks.

"Oh, yes." Ratchet grinned evilly. "She made Starscream call a retreat. While outnumbered and outgunned. If that's not scary, I don't know what is. Although that was less about the mood swings and more about protecting her family."

"Really?" Sam asked. "I mean, that actually happened?"

Ratchet chuckled. "Every 'bot and 'Con who was there remembers it. There was a battle near Iacon - that was the capital city, and where she and Prowl lived – while most of the Autobot army was out in the field. She was the only senior officer in the area, so it didn't matter that she was two and a half decacyles along, carrying twins; she took command for the operation. She wasn't supposed to actually go out in the field, but you know Riella. She can't lead from behind, so of course she ended up facing down 'Scream."

"What did she do?" Sideswipe's optics were wide, trying to process the fact that he'd technically been present for this and somehow hadn't heard the story before.

"She just looked at him, flicked energon off one blade, and told him to do himself a favor and surrender before she kicked his aft back to Kaon." Ratchet shook his head at the memory. "Half his size, of course, _carrying, _and really looking pretty beat-up after the battle, and she didn't care. I mean, normally she'd know better than that – when I asked her why in the Pit she would take a risk like that, she just shrugged and said that he threatened her family and she got mad."

Sunstreaker burst out laughing. "Why am I not surprised? So did Starscream just back off?"

"No, he laughed and asked her what made her think he would back down to an Autobot femme. Not in those terms, of course, but that was the gist of it. She flared up - literally, her panels were actually flaring – and almost took his wing off. With one hit. He didn't even have time to block it. That's about when he called the retreat - I don't blame him, she looked like something out of the Pit, blades covered in energon, optics blazing, the whole works. All she did was walk off the battlefield calling him names." Ratchet laughed and shook his head again. "If it weren't so hard on the rest of us, I'd say Riella's our best weapon when she's carrying."

"Wow..." Sam suddenly looked worried. "And, um, has anyone considered the possible diplomatic problems? Like if she pisses off a government agent? I mean, they're already not gonna be thrilled about the baby Transformer thing…"

"She's only that bad if you deliberately try to make her upset. It's not like she's going to start a war or anything, just because someone was an idiot. Besides, she won't be as bad after a few decacycles. Right?" First Aid looked to Ratchet for confirmation.

"Right. That usually only lasts until the spark starts moving. Still, I'd steer clear of her for a while. Don't worry, Prowl balances her out pretty well when it comes to government agents." The medic set Sam down. "Come on, let's go, First Aid. We have inventory to do, regardless of carrying femmes and stupid twins."

The twins and Sam looked after the medics, then exchanged worried glances. The next few weeks were going to be very interesting.


	4. Chapter 4: Not So Bad Maybe

**Chapter 4! Usual disclaimers; Tai and Sparrow belong to Tatyana Witwicky, and Riella, Icelight and the sparkling are mine! The rest belong to whoever-copyrighted-Transformers-originally!**

**Chapter 4: Not So Bad. Maybe.**

Contrary to Sam's belief, not _everyone _was worried about the possible fallout of Riella carrying. Sarah Lennox, for one, was absolutely thrilled to learn that Riella was having a sparkling, as was Annabelle. They managed to come out to the base just a week later.

Riella, fortunately, was in a fairly good mood that day. Annabelle, who had just turned three, didn't really understand everything, but she knew Riella "had a baby robot in her tummy" and was just as excited as anyone else.

"C'n I feel? Pwease?" Annabelle looked up at Riella with big pleading eyes.

"There's nothing to feel yet, sweetspark, but you can try." Riella guided the child's hand to the panel on her chest that covered her spark chamber. "It's right under there." Sparrow, who remembered Tai's pregnancy, had been doing the same thing for a while.

Annabelle put one little hand on it, and cooed, "Hi, 'ittle girl."

"How do you know it's a girl?" Sarah teased. Riella giggled. "Sparrow has been saying the same thing ever since we told her."

""Cause it is," Annabelle said confidently. "An' she's gonna play with me when she gets born."

"Well, maybe not right away," Riella told her. "She'll have to grow a bit first."

"She's gonna play with me when she grows." Annabelle rubbed a little hand on the panel. "Isn't you, 'ittle girl?" Annabelle smiled triumphantly. "She says yes."

Riella's optics/eyes welled with tears. "That's so sweet...I remember Bee doing something similar when I was carrying the twins. Sort of." She blinked and forced a smile. "Sorry. It's _that _part of the whole carrying process. Plus, baby Bumblebee."

Sarah reached out and hugged the technorganic. "Nothing to apologize for, sweetie, you're pregnant. It's normal."

Riella hugged her back with a smile. "Of course. It's been a very long time, that's all."

The human woman patted her back. "You'll be okay. So, do you have the other pregnancy things, like morning sickness and weird cravings?"

Riella shook her head with a wry smirk. "No morning sickness – actually, according to Ratchet, that's unique to my biology - but I do have odd cravings from time to time." She laughed. "Prowl has always been quite good about finding whatever I was asking for without comment, no matter how out of character it was. For a while it was rust sticks. That was an interesting phase. Personally, I blame that part on Sunstreaker."

"Rust sticks?" Sarah gave her an odd look.

"Cybertronian junk food," the femme elaborated. "They're good."

"Ah. Sort of like chips?"

"You could say that." Riella sighed. "There is no weight gain, but the energy loss to the spark means that I'm generally tired. If this works the same way every time, that'll go away about the same time the hormones lighten up; when the spark starts moving, about four decacycles along."

"So you'll actually feel it move?" Sarah put a hand on the panel hiding the spark chamber.

Riella nodded. "Not the same way you'd feel a human baby move, but you'll feel it pulse a little. It's very…I don't know how to explain it...oh Primus, now I'm crying again. I'm so sorry." She sniffled and tried to wipe the tears away. "I don't – excuse me, please." She turned away, but by the time she got to the door, the tears were gone and she was already half-smiling. "I'm going to go find Prowl. I'll talk to you later, Sarah. And _you_, Ironhide – " Her voice became stern very quickly. "Don't forget you have monitor duty. You do _not _want to know what will happen if I have to take your shift again!"

Ironhide shook his head as soon as Riella was gone. "That femme gets worse every day. I can't _wait_ for the sparkling to hurry up and deliver."

"I heard that!" echoed down the hallway, and the weapons specialist flinched, but luckily, Riella apparently didn't think it was worth dealing with at the moment.

"It's not all her fault," Arcee said. "Anyway, she's not that awful. I don't even want to think about what Chromia or Icelight would be like carrying." She dodged a swipe from her older sister, and grinned. "Aww, come on, Chrome', you know you'd be scarier than Riella on a bad day. And you, 'Light," she looked over at her youngest sister "will be the worst of the lot. Especially if it's Bluestreak's sparkling."

Everyone laughed as Icelight and Bluestreak's cooling vents switched on loudly.

Riella and Prowl walked along the outside edge of the base, watching the soldiers and Autobots mingling easily. "There was a time I didn't think this would happen," Prowl commented, looking at his sparkmate.

"What, the humans and 'bots getting along?" Riella arched a brow ridge. "I didn't either."

"No, the sparkling." Prowl knelt and picked her up, cradling her very gently in the crook of his right arm. "I was afraid...after Ratchet told us that the technorganic CNA wasn't compatible with carrying a sparkling and that it would be a massive risk, if it ever happened…"

"I know," Riella said quietly, leaning against his chest. "Me too. I – well, you know how I took it. I didn't go so far as to try and get rid of the CNA, but you know I thought about it." She sighed and closed her optics briefly, clearly not wanting to discuss it. "Are you hoping for a mech or femme?"

Prowl stroked her back gently with his free hand. "I'd be happy with either, but after four mechs, it'd be nice to have a femme. Maybe she'd look like you."

Riella laughed. "That's what I thought, minus the part about looking like me. If it is a femme, though, I doubt she'll be any easier than the mechs."

Prowl smiled down at her. "I wouldn't care if she - or he - was the most difficult sparkling in the galaxy. It's _our_ sparkling, and that makes it worth anything."

"True. Very true." Riella tipped her head back to look at the sky. "Maybe this one will inherit your personality. The twins got a bit too much from me."

"That's not possible." Prowl kept rubbing her back.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Prowl said, leaning down to kiss her gently on the top of her head, "that I love every single thing about your personality, and I love that the twins got so much of it. I'd be thrilled if this sparkling was exactly like you."

"Aww, that's sweet of you..." Riella stretched up and kissed him on the lips. She sniffled a bit. "Oh look, I'm crying again."

Prowl pulled her closer, letting her rest against him. "I love you, Riella," he murmured into her hair.

"I love you too, Prowl," she whispered, pressing her face into his chest. It didn't matter how much unwanted emotion it caused, carrying was worth it.


	5. Chapter 5: Run Galloway Run

**Thanks for the reviews, people! **

**Chapter 5: Run, Galloway, Run**

None of the government agents had been on base when the pregnancy had been announced, except Simmons, and no one bothered to tell them. The general consensus had been that some would handle the news well, most would not, and everyone would be happier if it just never came up. But, like any secret, it was bound to be found out, and at the worst possible time.

As usual, it was the Chevy twins who caused the problem. They were talking outside, and didn't notice Galloway coming across the parking lot...

"Yo, Skids! Is she havin' a mech 'r a femme?"

"How'd I know? I ain't carryin' it, stupid!"

"'Cause the Hatchet said we might know 'bout now, an' I ain't heard yet! And who ya callin' stupid, ugly?"

"Ugly? We're twins, ya stupid genius! An' I ain't heard yet either!"

Galloway stopped to stare. Normally he wouldn't have bothered to listen to any robots talking, particularly those two idiots, but their conversation had caught his attention. Was one of the women on base pregnant?

"Excuse me!" he called officiously. "What are you talking about?"

The twins stopped insulting each other and turned to look at him. "Riella's carryin', of course! Where've you been? It's the big news, man!"

"Riella..." Oh yes, that was the particularly irritating half-robot woman. The one who constantly "Carrying what?"

"Man, you're stupid! A sparklin'!"

"Sparkling?" Galloway stared blankly at them, then left. He would go find a human to answer the question. "Excuse me, Major Lennox. I need to ask you something. What is a 'sparkling'?"

Lennox turned to him. "Where'd you hear that word?"

"The Chevrolets were discussing a woman who was pregnant, or so I think, and then they informed me that the half-robot woman is 'carrying a sparkling'. Please explain." Galloway gave Lennox his best 'government official' look. "I need to know everything that is going on here, or I cannot do my job!"

"Well..." Lennox swallowed hard. This wasn't going to go well. "What they meant was, Riella is pregnant. A sparkling is a baby robot, sort of."

Galloway stared at him for a long moment, then blinked and shook his head angrily. "This kind of joke is _**not funny**_, Major!"

"It's not a joke. Ask anyone. She's about halfway through, according to First Aid." Lennox backed away, as Galloway spun around and stormed toward the hangar. "I need to speak to the Autobots' leader, immediately!"

Optimus, Riella, and Prowl all turned to see an irate Galloway storming toward them. "_WHAT_ is this I'm hearing about her being pregnant?"

All three exchanged glances, then Prowl said, "I suppose we can take that as 'congratulations'. How are you, Mr. Galloway?"

"How am I? I am NOT HAPPY! Why didn't you inform us earlier of this development?"

Riella sighed. "Honestly, we didn't think it was any of your business. It has nothing to do with you. We are on a need to know basis. And you did not."

"Need to know? You think the government didn't need to know that there is going to be _another one _of you here? On _our _planet?" Galloway was practically steaming.

Prowl arched an optic ridge. "Don't worry, this one will be very small. It shouldn't give you any trouble until it starts walking, and even then it won't be that big."

"When we made that treaty, it did _not_ include you - _reproducing_ here!"

Riella took a step forward, optics narrowing and starting to glow. "You have a problem with us reproducing?"

Galloway was apparently too upset to catch the danger in her tone. "If you continue to do that, you'll take over _our planet!_ We granted you asylum; we didn't say you could simply move in and start multiplying!"

"Well, I hate to tell you this -" Riella took a few steps closer, just to get in Galloway's personal space. "- but our families are _none of your business. _This sparkling is no threat to you, and if you have a problem with it, go complain to someone who cares."

"No threat? Are you insane?" Galloway pulled himself up to his full height, which was shorter than Riella's organic mode. "We don't want more of you here!"

Riella's holograms abruptly disappeared, leaving her looking very alien. "I don't give a slag about what you want, _human,_" she snarled angrily, stepping even closer.

Galloway backed up nervously. "Now, wait a moment..."

"You started this, human!" Riella clenched one fist, growling, "If you want to live, I suggest you _leave now!_"

Galloway took another step back, then turned and ran. Riella sighed, flicked her ponytail over one shoulder, and coldly stalked after him. "I'll make sure he leaves."

Optimus glanced at Prowl. "Should we stop her?"

"Nah, let her scare the crap out of him first," Lennox chuckled. "She won't really hurt him, will she?"

"I doubt it," Prowl said. "But this should teach him an important lesson about femmes. He didn't just make comments about her; he picked on her sparkling. That is a _terrible _idea. Especially when she's carrying."

"The mom factor, huh?" Lennox watched Galloway try to hide behind Epps, only to be shoved away. "Run, Galloway, run!"

**Thanks for reading! Please review! **


	6. Chapter 6: Slaggit! Now?

**And things intensify! **

**Riella and the baby are mine, and Tai, Techno and Sparrow are Tatyana Witwicky's!**

**Chapter 6: Slaggit! Now?**

Riella paced the base, in robot mode, with a sigh. She was bored out of her processor. Almost everyone was off base; they'd picked up a Decepticon signal in some other country and gone after it. Ratchet, however, had refused to let her go, pointing out the extreme risk she would be taking given how close she was to delivery. Prowl hadn't liked leaving her behind at all, even though she would be safe, but Optimus had insisted they needed the tactician, although he was distracted.

Ratchet and Optimus were right, of course – it was too risky for Riella to go anywhere near a fight, and they did need Prowl's help – but still, she hated having nothing to do. The only ones around were Sideswipe, who hadn't been able to go because he was still recovering from an injury, and Sam, Tai and her sparklings, Leo, who was visiting for a few days, and a couple soldiers. Sideswipe had even stopped pulling pranks, complaining that there was no one to pull them on. At least Agent Galloway had been noticeably absent from base for a while. Riella's lip components curved into a smirk at the memory of his expression when she'd chased him all the way to his car.

"Hi, Riella. How ya feeling?"

Riella turned to see Tai, with Techno in her arms and Sparrow running around a few feet behind her, looking up at her with a smile. "Alright. A few little twinges every now and then; I think we're getting pretty close. But other than that I'm feeling good."

"Twinges?" Tai looked confused.

Riella sat down, so that she was closer to the other technorganic. "The spark chamber has to expand to let the new spark out. It's similar to human contractions, but in reverse. The twinging is the spark chamber preparing to expand. It wouldn't normally be too painful, but because of my organic components, my spark chamber isn't quite formed the way it should be, making the expansion quite painful."

"Oooh. Bet you're not looking forward to that."

"You can bet a lot on that." Riella rolled her optics. "But at least this time Ratchet confirms there's only one. Last time it was twins. That was…unpleasant."

"Yeow." Tai almost looked sympathetic. "Is he - or she, or it, whatever - moving? Can I feel it?"

"Yes, there is a pulse, and yes, you can." Riella guided the girl's hand to the lower part of her chest. "Right there. You'll feel two spark pulses. Should feel like a little heartbeat."

"Aww," Tai cooed. "There it is! Can you feel it all the time?"

"Yes, as of three days ago. It keeps me awake sometimes, but it's not as bad as the twins were." Riella shrugged.

"You're lucky you don't gain weight," the technorganic commented. "Man, was I miserable for the last few weeks! Will it be hard for you to deliver it?"

"Yes, it will. It hurts to have the spark chamber expand, and it takes a long time for the spark to work its way out. The process is very similar to human labor." Riella could feel the spark pulsing a bit harder, and rubbed a hand over her spark chamber, trying to calm it down.

"So you decided not to have Ratchet tell you what it is?"

"Yes, we decided to wait and see. That was what we did with the twins. I think it may be a femme, though. Don't ask why, I'm not sure." Riella tried to send reassuring pulses to the little spark; it was incredibly active at the moment.

"I can't wait, and neither can Sparrow." Tai giggled. "You got a name picked yet?"

"Well, we have a few in mind, but..." Riella's voice trailed off, and she caught her breath, pressing her hand over her spark chamber.

"What's wrong? Riella, are you okay?"

"Yes. Sometimes the pulses hurt like that." The older technorganic managed to relax. "An unfortunate side effect of having a second spark inside a small spark chamber."

Sideswipe came outside, talking animatedly to Sam and Leo about some prank he'd pulled back in training. "…so then we just sat there and watched him run around looking for it! Oh, hi. How ya doing, Riella?"

"I'll live, Sides. Bored and tired. You?" She winced a bit.

"I'm good. Sunny just called. Said they're en route to the signal location right now. Apparently it keeps moving. Lennox says they've got it this time, though."

"Well, that's good." Riella tried to relax. "Sam, Leo, how are you?"

"Oh, we're awesome, man!" Leo spun around, indicating the base. "It's summer vacation, and instead of having to work, we get to stay here! It's freaking awesome!"

Sideswipe knelt beside Riella with a worried expression. "Seriously, Riella, are you okay? You don't look so good."

"I said I'm alright, Sides - _oh slag!_" Riella doubled over, pressing both hands against her spark chamber. "Ow..."

"Riella!" Sideswipe grabbed her, holding her upright, as the humans stared in horror. "What's going on?"

Tai gasped. "Riella, please tell me that's not what it looked like..."

Riella couldn't speak for a moment, until the pressure eased. "Well...I didn't want anyone to worry, and I hoped it was just pre-delivery twinges, but..."

"The sparkling's coming? Now?" Sam's eyes widened.

"I think so, yes." Riella leaned against Sideswipe for support. "Primus, I forgot how much it hurts."

"Okay, okay, okay, nobody panic, sparkling on the way, somebody call Ratchet!" Sam was just as panicked as he'd been when the Autobots had first arrived.

"Do something! Somebody, anybody, do something, we need help!" Leo was hyperventilating.

"Riella! It's okay, don't panic, everything's going to be fine..." Tai knelt beside Riella, eye and disguised optic wide. "I don't know how to do this...but it's fine."

"Of all the times! Help! I can't deliver a sparkling, this is NOT GOOD, why couldn't it have waited two slagging days..." Sideswipe held Riella up, talking almost as fast as Bluestreak. "Fraggit, somebody please tell me they know what to do, because I DON'T!"

Riella rolled her optics with a groan. It figured. "Okay, that's enough! All of you, _shut up_!"

Everyone shut up and looked at Riella, who was struggling to her feet with help from Sideswipe. "Listen to me. This is _not _the first time I've done this. This is how it works. Nothing's gone wrong yet. Sam, Leo, I need you two to calm down and stop panicking. You are not helping. Sides, help me get to the medbay, then we'll comm Ratchet and tell him what's going on. Everything is ready, and I know what to do, so we're going to be _just fine_. Got it?"


	7. Chapter 7: You Want Me To Do What?

**Here's the moment you've all been waiting for! Lucky Riella, and poor Sideswipe… ;)**

**Riella and baby are mine and Tai belongs to Tatyana Witwicky!**

**Chapter 7: You Want Me To Do What?**

Once in the medbay, Riella lay down on one of the berths with a sigh of relief. "There, that's better. Sides, comm Ratchet." She winced at the volume as Sideswipe screamed over the open internal comm. ::RATCHET! HELP!::

::What is it?:: The medic sounded grouchy, as usual.

::You have to get back here RIGHT NOW! Riella's delivering and I CAN'T DELIVER A SPARKLING!::

::Riella's delivering?:: Prowl sounded thoroughly panicked. ::Riella! Are you okay? How long has it been happening? Ratchet! We need to get back there!::

::You can't get back here in time,:: Riella said calmly. ::Relax, Prowl. Everything is fine so far.::

Ratchet spoke up. ::How long have you been having pulses?::

::About...oh, maybe half an hour. They just got strong enough to hurt a few minutes ago.:: Riella gasped as another one hit. Sam and Leo both panicked again. "I can't handle this! Do something! Anything!" "Help! AAAAHHH!" Tai rolled her eye and optic. "Guys, stop it!"

"Dear Primus," Riella groaned. ::Ratchet, is there any way we can slow this down or stop it? I'd rather have you here for this.::

::Sorry, kiddo, but there's really nothing to do except wait it out. I'll be back ASAP, but it probably won't be soon enough. Sideswipe, you're gonna have to help her.::

"What? Me? I can't! I'm not a medic!" Sideswipe stared at Riella in horror.

"You don't...ow!...need to be a medic, Sides. Ratchet can talk you through the procedure. But right now I need you to be calm. That'll help the most, because in a few minutes it will be very hard for me to stay calm any more. Please." Riella clenched her fist. "Would someone shut Sam and Leo up? I think I'm going to scream if they don't stop it."

"Dammit, you two, if you can't be calm then leave!" Tai yelled at the two boys.

Riella sighed and rubbed her forehead. "That's not what I meant."

Fifteen minutes later, Riella was struggling to breathe between pulses. "Ow. _Ow. _Prowl, you still there?"

::I'm here, sweetspark. I'm not going anywhere,:: Prowl answered worriedly. ::Are you okay?::

Sideswipe held her hand through yet another pulse, wincing as she nearly crushed his hand. ::Ratchet, when do I need the protoform?::

::Not until her spark chamber opens. Riella, are you doing alright?::

"I...I think so." She cycled her vents and stifled a gasp of pain. "Nothing that seems like…an emergency. Difficult…but not harmful."

Tai patted her shoulder. "You're doing great, honey... "

"Can't you just...I don't know, hold it back or something?" Leo looked around worriedly.

Riella turned toward him with an incredulous glare. "What the frag is _wrong _with you?"

Leo backed away nervously and shut up. Riella grimaced and then yelped. "Ow! Oh, _Primus. _Slag it…"

::Riella?:: Prowl sounded unbelievably worried by this point. ::Riella, you're going to be fine. Just hang on, okay?"

"What the frag do you think I'm doing?" Riella snapped, then apologized. "Sorry...didn't mean it to sound like that..."

"Hey, at least he didn't pass out," Tai commented dryly.

::It's alright.:: Riella shook her head at how upset her sparkmate sounded. ::Just as long as you're okay…::

Ratchet jumped into the conversation again. ::Sides, if they're hurting that bad, you should probably make sure you're ready. This could happen pretty fast. And just so you know, she'll probably cuss you out the whole time.::

"I will not!" Riella snapped. "Ow! Frag it!"

"Riella, it's okay…right?" Sideswipe looked horribly nervous. "It's fine...it can't be that bad..."

Riella managed a grin. "What is it humans say? No reproduction chamber, no opinion." That made Tai laugh, which got a giggle out of Riella as well. Unfortunately, it was immediately followed by a groan. "Slaggit. Ratchet, when we're done here…remind me to…look at losing some of the organic DNA, okay?"

Sideswipe braced himself as she practically crushed his servo again. "Ouch...easy, Riella..."

Riella ignored him, gasping in pain and fighting back a cry. "…Ratchet? I don't know if…"

::Are you bleeding?:: Ratchet asked calmly.

"No, she's not," Sideswipe interrupted, pulling his servo out of hers and reaching for the protoform.

Tai rubbed her friend's arm lightly. "I'd hold your hand, but I think you'd break mine. Just do it, you'll be fine."

Sideswipe was shaking a bit. "I can't do this!"

::Yes, you can.:: Ratchet's voice was still calm. ::Can you see the spark yet?::

"No...not yet." Sideswipe leaned over Riella. "Um, I don't even know what I'm looking for…"

"You'll know it when you see it..." Riella gasped. "I can...tell you. Ow. _Ow!_"

There was a thud, and all three of them looked to see that Sam had just passed out. Leo looked ready to do the same. Riella rolled her optics. "F-figures...mechs..."

"I think…" Sideswipe fidgeted nervously with the protoform. Tai smacked his servo. "Is that it?" 

"…Yes," Riella informed him, in a tone that suggested she really wanted to say _What else could it be, you idiot? _"It'll work its…ow…way out..."

Ratchet took over the explanation as soon as Riella stopped talking. ::Sideswipe, when the spark detaches, just put your servo under it and set it in the protoform's spark chamber. Be gentle. It's not that difficult.::

"Got it...I think..." Sideswipe stared nervously down at his femme creator. "I _really _have no idea what I'm doing here..."

"Oh...kay...here...it...comes..." Riella barely got the sentence out before almost biting through her lower lip in pain. The spark detaching was painful for anyone, but the organic element made it that much worse. "Slag it. _Ow!"_ She trailed off into Cybertronian and Vulcan, gasping for breath between words as the tiny spark finally disconnected from hers.

Sideswipe just managed to get a hand under it in time. Trembling, he set it lightly in the protoform's spark chamber. The protoform began to glow a brilliant blue. Five seconds later, the glow faded to reveal a tiny blue and white robot, about the size of a human two-year-old. Riella picked the tiny Autobot up carefully in one servo, cradling it against her side and chest. "Hello, little one…"

"Awww!" Tai cooed, reaching out to touch it lightly. "It looks just like you...what is it?"

Riella gently opened the spark chamber to reveal a light blue spark. "It's a femme."

Sideswipe looked down at his new little sister. "Isn't she...um, kind of small?"

Riella smiled tiredly. "They're all this small right after they're born. She'll grow."

"Whoa, dude," Leo said, staring. "It really is a baby robot!"

The tiny femme opened electric-blue optics to gaze up at her femme creator and brother. She made a tiny mewing sound and cuddled up against Riella. The technorganic brushed tears away from her eyes and looked up at Sideswipe. "Do you want to hold her?"

His optics widened. "Can I?"

"Yes, of course you can. Here." Riella held the sparkling up toward Sideswipe. He took her very gently in one hand, staring down at her. "What's her name?"

::Skystorm:: Prowl said over the comm. ::That's the femme name we decided on, and from those images Riella's sending over the bond, I think it fits.::

"Hi, Skystorm," Tai cooed, looking at the tiny femme in Sideswipe's palm. She couldn't wait to hold her. "Aww...she's so cute!"

"Yeah..." Sideswipe was still staring at her, as if he couldn't believe this was his little sister. "What are these?" He traced the little fins that showed on her shoulders.

Riella looked and gasped. "Oh Primus...Prowl, we had a flier."

"A flier? You mean, like an Aerialbot?" Sideswipe's jaw dropped.

::Really?:: Prowl sounded just as shocked.

"I think so," Riella said, examining the little fins. "She's got wings, and little jets."

"Oh, wow..." Tai stroked the little thing's head gently. "That is so adorable! Can she fly yet?"

Sam sat up slowly, shaking his head. "What'd I miss?" He stood up and looked over at Sideswipe and Skystorm. "Oh, wow...I thought it'd be...you know, bigger."

"_It_," Sideswipe said sternly, sounding just like Prowl for a second, "is a _she_."

::Hey Sides!:: Sunstreaker's voice came over the comm link, a bit loudly. ::Are you holding her?::

"Yes, I am, and no, I'm not going to drop her. Why?"

::Not _fair_!:: Riella winced and covered her sensitive ears at the loud voice. ::I want to hold her!::

::You can when we get home, Sunstreaker. In fact, I believe you just volunteered to babysit.:: Prowl's voice was amused.

"Here, Sides, I can take her again." Riella held out her arms, and Sideswipe gently placed Skystorm in them. Riella cradled her sparkling against her and kissed the miniature chevron on Skystorm's forehead. The little femme yawned, then snuggled into Riella's chest and promptly fell into recharge.

Riella looked up at Sideswipe, activating her comm link one more time. "Prowl, how long until you get back? Our family needs to be together. All of us."

**I hope you like the name I picked! :D**

**Review please! It makes me and Skystorm happy! **


	8. Epilogue: Future

**Here it is, the last chapter! *sniff* **

**Usual disclaimers! **

**Epilogue: Future**

Two weeks after Skystorm's delivery, Riella stood with Prowl outside the base, watching the sunset reflect in the ocean. Prowl had Skystorm cradled gently in his hand, and was looking down at her every few seconds to make sure she was still happy. She was, every time, since she was playing with one of his fingers.

"I love this part," Riella said softly. "When they're so small, I can keep them safe."

"Mm..." Prowl nodded. "Isn't it amazing, to think that this little thing represents the future of our race?"

"Beyond amazing." Riella brushed a finger gently over her sparkling's head.

Prowl wrapped his free arm around his sparkmate's shoulders. "Have you seen the way the other four are with her? Even the twins are careful around her. Her brothers are going to completely spoil her."

Riella giggled. "Yes, but they'll start messing with her as soon as she's old enough. Still, around here, she'll have so many 'bots - and humans - to take care of her that she could have a different babysitter every day for a year. Especially the Aerialbots; they're thrilled to have a new flier around, even if she won't be taking to the air for a while yet."

"How long until she can fly?" Prowl traced his daughter's wings gently.

Riella shrugged. "Silverbolt says she'll want to fly almost as soon as she starts walking, if she's anything like his brothers, although she won't actually be able to for a few years after that. But then, they're a gestalt, and all fliers. Her brothers are all carformers."

"Yeah, speaking of which..." Both Autobots turned to see Bluestreak behind them. "I think it's my turn to hang out with 'Storm for a while, because Bee had her this morning and the twins were playing with her and Tai and Sparrow this afternoon, and I didn't get a chance because I was out on patrol..."

"Okay, okay." Prowl gently placed Skystorm in Bluestreak's outstretched hand. The sparkling giggled and batted a tiny hand in the air. Bluestreak bent down until his nasal ridge was almost touching hers. "What do you think is so funny, huh, little femme?"

Skystorm giggled again, squeaked and clicked, then grabbed onto Bluestreak's red chevron, pulling on it and continuing to giggle as he protested halfheartedly. "Hey! Let go, sweetie, that's attached to me and I'd really like to keep it!"

Riella and Prowl both laughed as the sparkling looked at her older brother for a moment, then squeaked excitedly and yanked on the chevron. Bluestreak yelped. "Ow! What's got you so excited?" He pried her tiny fingers off the chevron carefully. "Here, let go. What do you want?"

She cooed and pointed toward the hangar. "You want to go inside?" The sparkling nodded hard and squeaked again, waving her hands excitedly. "Well, I don't know what you want to do in there, but I can find out..." Bluestreak carried his little sister toward the hangar, talking to her the whole way. She responded with more squeaks, clicks, and coos.

Riella laughed, leaning against her sparkmate. "Case in point. Am I the only one who's just slightly unnerved by the fact that the sparkling that represents the future of our race just went off to watch TV?"

**Don't worry, people, Skystorm will show up again in other stories! **

**Review please! **


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